Electroluminescent devices with electrode protection

ABSTRACT

A method of manufacturing an electroluminescent device which has an anode and a cathode and arranged between the anode and the cathode a light emissive layer, also includes an anode protection layer which protects the anode against the effects of converting a precursor polymer to a semiconductive conjugated polymer which constitutes the light emissive layer. This has been found to increase the brightness and half-life of devices.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the construction of organic electroluminescent(EL) devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Organic electroluminescent devices are made from materials that emitlight when a suitable voltage is applied across electrodes deposited oneither side of the material. One class of such materials issemiconductive conjugated polymers which have been described in ourearlier patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,190, the contents of which are hereinincorporated by reference. Poly(p-phenylene vinylene) [PPV], forinstance, will emit light when positive and negative charge carriers arepassed through the material by applying a voltage between two suitableelectrodes. The electroluminescent efficiency of these devices dependson the balancing of the electrons and holes that are injected into thedevice and meet to form electron/hole pairs, as well as on theefficiency with which these electron/hole pairs combine to radiatelight, i.e. the photoluminescence efficiency (for example, see N. C.Greenham and R. H. Friend, Solid State Physics, 49, 1, 1995). Thereforeit is of importance for an efficient device to have sufficiently highphotoluminescence efficiency.

There are several approaches used for the processing of conjugatedpolymers. One approach uses a precursor polymer which is soluble and cantherefore be easily coated by standard solution-based processingtechniques (for example, spin-coating and blade-coating). The precursoris then converted in situ by suitable heat treatment to give theconjugated and insoluble polymer. Another approach uses directly solubleconjugated polymers which do not require a subsequent conversion stage.Depending on the specific application, one or other of the approachesmight be relevant. The precursor polymers approach can be especiallyimportant where subsequent processing might lead to damage of thepolymer film if it were directly soluble—such processing may be, forinstance, coating with further polymer layers (for example, transportlayers or emitting layers of different colour), or patterning of the topelectrode. Converted precursor films also have better thermal stabilitywhich is of importance both during fabrication but also for the storageand operation of devices at high temperatures.

Where the precursor polymer is converted to the final form byelimination or modification of a solubilising group it is generallyimportant that these by-products of the conversion process are removedfrom the film. It may also be important that they do not interact withthe substrate during this process, for example if this causes harmfulimpurities to move into the film from the substrate thus affecting theperformance (including luminescence efficiency and lifetime) of theelectroluminescent device. We have observed, for instance, a quenchingof the photoluminescence when precursor PPV polymers are converted onconductive oxide substrates such as indium tin oxide. This, we believe,may be caused by indium compounds being released into the PPV due to thereaction of one of the conversion by-products (for example, hydrogenhalide) with the indium tin oxide.

In addition to the observation of quenching via the presence ofimpurities from the interaction of by-products with indium tin oxideduring conversion, we have also observed detrimental effects due to theenhanced conversion of certain PPV copolymers. Such copolymers normallyhave limited conjugation lengths as compared to the homopolymer case.This normally leads to exciton confinement and therefore highphotoluminescence and electroluminescence efficiencies. In this case, webelieve that the indium compounds present in certain PPV copolymersfilms when converted on indium tin oxide can catalyse the elimination ofgroups designed to survive the conversion process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a device structure and a method of manufacturefor an electroluminescent device that overcomes this problem.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a method ofmanufacturing an electroluminescent device comprising the steps of:

-   -   forming an anode of a positive charge carrier injecting        material;    -   forming an anode protection layer on the anode of a protection        material selected from the group comprising: polypyrroles and        their derivatives; polythiophenes and their derivatives;        polyvinylcarbazole (PVK); polystyrene; poly(vinyl pyridine);        dielectric materials; carbon; amorphous silicon; non-indium        containing conductive oxides including tin oxide, zinc oxide,        vanadium oxide, molybdenum oxide and nickel oxide; and sublimed        organic semiconductors;    -   forming a light emissive layer by converting a precursor to a        polymer being a semiconductive conjugated polymer; and    -   forming a cathode of a negative charge carrier injecting        material.

The anode protection layer has been found to be particularly valuablewhen the light emissive layer is a polymer which releases acidic byproducts (e.g. hydrogen halides) during the conversion from theprecursor to the conjugated polymer.

Another aspect of the invention provides an electroluminescent devicecomprising:

-   -   an anode formed of a positive charge carrier injecting material;    -   an anode protection layer on the anode formed of a protection        material selected from the group comprising: polypyrroles and        their derivatives; polythiophenes and their derivatives;        polyvinylcarbazole (PVK); polystyrene; poly(vinyl pyridine);        dielectric materials; carbon; amorphous silicon; non-indium        containing conductive oxides including tin oxide, zinc oxide,        vanadium oxide, molybdenum oxide, and nickel oxide; and sublimed        organic semiconductors;    -   a light emissive layer formed of a semiconductive conjugated        polymer; and    -   a cathode formed of a negative charge carrier injecting        material.

The invention is particularly useful when the anode is formed of indiumtin oxide (ITO). However other materials are suitable, such as tinoxide.

In one embodiment a layer of transparent conducting material depositedon glass or plastic forms the anode of the device. Examples of suitableanodes include tin oxide and indium tin oxide. Typical layer thicknessesare 500-2000 Å and sheet resistances are 10-100 Ohm/square, andpreferably <30 Ohm/square. The converted precursor polymer can be, forinstance, poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV3 or a homopolymer or copolymerderivative of PPV. The thickness of this layer can be in the range100-3000 Å, preferably 500-2000 Å and more preferably 1000-2000 Å. Thethickness of the precursor layer prior to conversion can be in the range100-6000 Å for spin-coated layers and up to 200 μm for blade coating.The anode protection layer is chosen to act as a barrier against theconversion by-products of the precursor polymer, but also should not actas a barrier to the injection of holes from the anode into the emittinglayer, where they combine with electrons injected from the cathode toradiate light. Conducting polymers are a general class of materials thatcan combine ease of processing, protection of the underlying electrode,and suitable hole transporting and injecting properties and aretherefore good candidates. Thin layers of between 10-2000 Å andpreferably 10-500 Å may be used and therefore the transparency of thelayer can be high. Typical sheet resistances of these layers are100-1000 Ohm/square, but can be as high as in excess of 10¹⁰ Ω/squ.Examples include conjugated polymers that have been doped includingpolythiophenes, polyanilines, polypyrroles, and derivatives thereof. Thecathode electrode is placed on the other side of the converted precursormaterial and completes the device structure. Furthermore, undopedconjugated polymers, as listed above, may also be used where the dopingoccurs in situ, by interaction with the conversion by-products duringdevice manufacture.

The invention also provides use of an electrode protection layer in themanufacture of an organic light emitting device to protect an electrodeof the organic light emitting device from the effects of conversion of aprecursor into a light emitting semiconductive conjugated polymer,wherein the organic light emitting device comprises first and secondelectrodes with the light emitting polymer being located between them.

Thus, in another embodiment the electrode protection layer and theprecursor polymer is deposited on the cathode, typically a material suchas aluminium or an alloy of aluminium with a low work function elementor any low work function element or alloy. In this case the protectionlayer will need to transport electrons, but may or may not need to betransparent. Again conducting polymers are suitable candidates ascathode protection layers. The anode electrode is placed on the otherside of the converted precursor material and completes the devicestructure.

In yet another embodiment a protection layer to either the anode orcathode as described above is provided but where the protection layer isan undoped conjugated polymer but which has sufficient injectionproperties and transport mobilities for either holes or electronsdepending on whether it is protecting the anode or cathode respectively.An example of such a protection layer would be a soluble PPV derivativeor alternatively a precursor PPV or PPV derivative material. In thelatter case, if the protection layer is much thinner than theelectroluminescence layer, the by-products of the conversion process aremore easily removed and therefore any interaction with the electrodeduring conversion is reduced.

In yet another embodiment a protection layer to either the anode orcathode as described above is provided, but where the protection layeris an evaporated, sputtered, or reactively sputtered thin film which hassufficient injection properties and transport mobilities for eitherholes or electrons depending on whether it is protecting the anode orcathode respectively. An example of such a protection layer would be athin layer of sputtered or evaporated carbon, a sputtered layer ofamorphous silicon or non-indium containing conductive oxides includingtin oxide, zinc oxide, vanadium oxide, molybdenum oxide, and nickeloxide, or a sublimed organic semiconductor layer.

In yet another embodiment a protection layer to either the cathode oranode as described above is provided, but where the protection layer isan undoped and non-conjugated polymer but which has sufficient injectionproperties and transport mobilities for either holes or electronsdepending on whether it is protecting the anode or cathode respectively.An example would be polyvinyl carbazole which is a good holetransporting material but is not a conjugated polymer. Alternativelyvery thin layers of polymer materials which have relatively poor holeand electron mobilities may function as good electrode protectorswithout compromising the balance of electron and hole charge carriers.Examples would be polystyrene and poly(vinyl pyridine).

In yet another embodiment a protection layer to either the cathode oranode as described above is provided, but where the protection layer isa very thin inorganic dielectric which provides a barrier to theprecursor conversion by-products, but which is thin enough that holescan tunnel through it when it is in contact and protecting the anode orelectrons can tunnel through it when it is in contact and protecting thecathode.

The invention also provides a method of manufacturing anelectroluminescent device comprising the steps of:

-   -   forming an anode of a positive charge injecting material;    -   forming a sacrificial anode protection layer over the anode;    -   depositing a precursor to a semiconductive conjugated polymer on        the sacrificial layer;    -   converting the precursor to a semiconductive conjugated polymer        to form a light emitting layer, during which conversion step the        anode protection layer protects the anode from the effects of        the conversion and is itself consumed; and    -   forming a cathode of a negative charge injecting material.

Thus, in another embodiment a protection layer for either the anode orthe cathode as described above is provided, but where the protectionlayer is a sacrificial layer. During the conversion process thesacrificial layer is etched away by the conversion by-products, thesubsequence products of this interaction are chosen such that they donot interfere with the photoluminescence or electroluminescenceefficiencies of the converted precursor conjugated polymers. Examples ofsuch protection layers would include non-stoichiometric oxide films,such as silicon and aluminium oxides, the layer thickness beingdetermined by the degree of interaction during the conversion process.

The invention also provides an organic light-emitting device,comprising:

-   -   an electrode;    -   an organic light-emissive layer formed from converted organic        precursor; and    -   an electrode protection layer formed between the electrode and        the light-emissive layer so as to protect the electrode during        conversion of the organic precursor.

The invention also provides a method of manufacturing an organiclight-emitting device, comprising the steps of:

-   -   depositing an electrode;    -   depositing an electrode protection layer over the electrode;    -   depositing a layer of an organic precursor for a light-emissive        material; and    -   converting the organic precursor into the light-emissive        material;    -   wherein the electrode protection layer protects the electrode        during conversion of the organic precursor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A to 1C are diagrams of an electroluminescent deviceincorporating an anode protection layer;

FIG. 2 illustrates two conversion routes of a precursor to PPV;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are graphs illustrating the UV-vis spectra of PPVhomopolymer respectively converted on quartz, indium tin oxide and ananode protection layer;

FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating the UV-vis spectra of PPV copolymerconverted on quartz, indium tin oxide and an anode protection layer; and

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the IR spectra of an acetate basedcopolymer converted on silicon, silicon with an indium layer, andsilicon with an indium layer and protection layer.

For a better understanding of the present invention and to show how thesame may be carried into effect reference will now be made by way ofexample to the above referenced drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1A illustrates a structure of an electroluminescent device. Asubstrate 2 formed of a transparent glass or plastics material is coatedwith a material constituting an anode 4 of the device. An anodeprotection layer 6 is located between the anode 4 and a light emittinglayer 8. Cathode strips 10 are provided delineating with the anode 4light emitting areas of the device. The operation of this device to emitlight (without the anode protection layer) is discussed in our precedingreferenced patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,190 and will not be describedfurther herein except to the extent that it is affected by the presentinvention.

Embodiment I

A first embodiment is now described. Indium tin oxide constituting theanode 4 is deposited using either dc or rf sputtering techniques ontothe polished glass substrate 2. Such substrates are availablecommercially. Soda lime glass with a thin silica barrier and an indiumtin oxide layer of resistivity of 30 Ohm/square and transparency ofabout 85%, with a thickness of order 1500 Å, can be used. Apolythiophene based conducting polymer system is used as the anodeprotection layer 6. Polyethylene dioxythiophene/polystyrene sulphonate(PEDT/PSS @ 1:1.2 molar ratio)—which is available from Sayer AG,Leverkusen, Germany as Trial Product AI 4071. A 100 Å film of theconducting polymer is spin-coated on the substrate. The EL layer 8 isformed by spin-coating a precursor polymer such as a homopolymer PPV.With this precursor polymer the solubilising group that is removedduring conversion at 150° C. in nitrogen for 4 hours istetrahydrothiophene, and the counter-ion to the thiophene salt isbromide. Another by-product is therefore hydrogen bromide which readilyattacks ITO and can cause the release of detrimental products into thefilm which quenches the photoluminescence. The conversion by-products ofthe PPV-based precursor are indicated in FIG. 2 where a=0, a′=0.

Without the anode protection layer, initial measurements of PLefficiency of the PPV material were reduced from about 13% to, at best,about 0.7% following the thermal conversion process. Furthermeasurements established that the PL efficiency may be in the range 10%down to about 2-3%. Initial measurements with the anode protection layerindicated a PL efficiency of ˜3%. Subsequent work has shown that thiscan be increased to −5%. After the conversion a suitable cathodematerial, calcium for instance, is deposited on top of the conjugatedpolymer 8 and patterned to form strips 10. After thac, contacting andencapsulation with epoxy/glass were immediately performed in a glovebox. Devices made with the protector layer typically have significantlyimproved electroluminescence efficiency compared to the devices withoutthe protector layer 6.

Embodiment II

Another specific embodiment is now described. The initial steps are thesame as embodiment 1 up to formation of the EL layer. In thisembodiment, a precursor to an acetate-based PPV copolymer is deposited.This material has a very high photoluminescence (PL) efficiency, wherethe solubilising group that is removed during conversion istetrahydrothiophene, and the counter-ion to the thiophene salt isbromide. Another by-product is therefore hydrogen bromide which readilyattacks ITO and can cause the release of detrimental products into thefilm which quenches the photoluminescence and causes enhancedconversion. Without the anode protection layer 6, the PL efficiency ofthe PPV material is dramatically reduced from about 50-60% to, at bestabout 7% following the thermal conversion process (150° C. in nitrogenfor 4 hours as before). However, with the protector layer a PLefficiency of ˜22% is obtained following conversion. FIG. 2 shows theconversion system, where a≠0, a′≠0. After the conversion a suitablecathode material, calcium for instance, is deposited on top of theconjugated polymer.

Table 1 illustrates the photoluminescent efficiencies for embodiments Iand II, in the final column of Table 1. The first and second columns ofTable 1 illustrate values for the photoluminescence efficiency insituations where the precursor layer is spin-coated onto quartz andindium tin oxide respectively without the use of the anode protectionlayer. Table 1A shows equivalent figures resulting from what we believeare more accurate measurements with a better statistical base.

The copolymer referred to in this case was measured initially to contain˜20 mol. % of the acetate function. Subsequent measurements which webelieve to be more accurate indicate a content of ˜40 mol. % of theacetate function. Modification of the copolymer acetate level has led tophotoluminescence efficiencies of about 30% when converted on ITO withthe PEDT/PSS protection layer.

FIGS. 3 to 5 show that protection of the PPV copolymer is also broughtabout minimising the enhanced conversion with the ITO protection layer.FIG. 3A illustrates measurements taken from structures having differinglayer thicknesses. FIG. 3B shows the situation where a common layerthickness is used. FIG. 3B illustrates that the UV-vis spectra showlittle change in the homopolymer case irrespective of the substrateused. However, FIG. 4 shows that there is an enhanced red shift for theacetate based copolymer when converted on ITO. In addition, there is anabsorption peak at 1737 cm⁻¹ in the IR spectra which is assigned to theacetate carbonyl absorption. The relative intensity of this can becompared with other peaks in the spectrum, such as the absorption at1517 cm−1 which originates in the aromatic constituents of the polymer.The ratio of the intensities of the two peaks therefore gives a measureof the relative quantities of the acetate function. Table 2 shows thatthis ratio (acetate:aromatic) is significantly reduced when theconversion is carried out on silicon with an indium layer. We interpretthese results as enhanced conversion of the acetate based copolymer byindium compounds from the silicon substrate with indium layer and thisprocess is reduced by the presence of protection layers. Relativephotoluminescence efficiencies are detailed in Tables 1A and B. Thedevice performance of the systems including the protection layer may besummarised as 100 cd/m2 starting brightness, efficiency of 0.2-0.6 μm/Wand up to 2 μm/W, with a half-life of brightness (at constant current orconstant voltage drive) of 10-100 hours, and up to 2000 hours.

Embodiment III

Another specific embodiment is now described. In this embodiment, theproduction steps are the same for Embodiment II except that thepolyethylene dioxythiophene/polystyrene sulphonate material which isused as the anode protection layer has been optimised to give beneficiallifetime performance by increasing the PSS content. Thus, the materialnow has a 1:5 molar ratio PEDT/PSS. The device performance of thesesystem may be summarised as 100 cd/m2 starting brightness, efficiency of0.3-1.2 |m/w, and up to 2 |m/w with a half-life of ˜500 hours and up to2000 hours.

Embodiment IV

In the case of Embodiment III, we have observed a detrimentalinteraction between the PEDT/PSS protection layer (@ 1:5 molar ratio)with the PPV precursor solution. We believe this is because ofdissolution of the PEDT/PSS layer in the PPV precursor solution and thiscan lead to non-uniform emission in the final device. For example, ifthe PPV is spin-coated on top of the PEDT/PSS film during devicefabrication then a circular non-uniformity is observed at thePEDT/PSS-PPV interface after conversion. We have overcome this problemby spin-coating a thin poly(vinyl pyridine) (PVP) film (FIG.1B-reference 7) on top of the PEDT/PSS layer before the PPV precursorsolution is applied. As is well understood, commercially available PVPincludes a component of polystyrene, typically 10%, to render itsoluble. Hence, a 100 Å film of the PEDT/PSS system is deposited asdescribed above and following this a thin PVP film is spin-coated from a0.1% w/v solution in methanol. The rest of the device is manufactured inthe normal way and characteristics as outlined above are obtained (i.e.100 cd/m2 initial brightness, 6.3-1.2 μm/W efficiency, with a half-lifeof ˜500 hours). However, the emission uniformity is greatly improved. Asthe PVP acts as a barrier between the PEDT/PSS system and the PPV, thisapproach can also be used to pattern this ITO protection layer.

Embodiment V

A further specific embodiment is now described and relates to thefabrication of such devices. A sheet of ITO coated glass is taken andcleaned. The dimensions of the ITO-coated glass may be from 12*12 mm tomuch greater than 80*80 mm. The PEDT/PSS ITO protection layer is thenspin-coated onto the substrate to a thickness of ˜100 Å. Following thisthe PPV precursor solution is blade-coated onto the PEDT/PSS layer at awet film thickness of 100 μm at a precursor solution concentration of0.4-0.5% solid content. In this case the device uniformity is superiorto that obtained when the PPV precursor is spin-coated. Alternatively, adouble layer PPV device may be blade-coated such that each layer is˜500-700 Å thick and a short conversion (˜20 minutes at 150° C.) iscarried out before deposition of the second layer (reference 9 in FIG.1C). After conversion the final conversion the PPV film obtained is˜1000-1400 Å thick. In this case beneficial effects are observed withrespect to device efficiency and gross uniformity. A suitable cathode isthen deposited and the device is connectorised.

Embodiment VI

In another embodiment, a glass substrate is coated with indium tin oxidein the manner described above. Then, PVP was dissolved in methanol to aconcentration of 0.1%, prefiltered to 1 micron pore size and coated ontothe indium tin oxide to a thickness of about 100 Å. Then, the PPVprecursor discussed above with reference to Embodiment I is spincoatedon top and converted at 150° C. in nitrogen for 4 hours to render alayer of PPV of about 1000 Å thickness. The device was then stored in adesiccator for 48 hours before a cathode formed from analuminium/lithium alloy was sputtered on top.

Embodiment VII

This embodiment was formed in the same manner as Embodiment VI, exceptthat the anode protection layer was formed of polyvinylcarbazole (PVK)dissolved in THF to a concentration of 0.1%.

Embodiment VIII

This embodiment was formed in the same manner as Embodiments VI and VIIexcept that the anode protection layer was formed of polystyrenedissolved in THF to a concentration of 0.1.

Embodiment IX

This embodiment was formed in the same manner as Embodiments VI, VII andVIII except that the anode protection layer was formed of poly(vinylpyridine) dissolved in methanol to a concentration of 0.1%.

Embodiment X

In another embodiment, the device is manufactured according toEmbodiment II, but the cathode is formed of a lithium/aluminium alloyinstead of calcium. For instance a lithium/aluminium alloy containing upto 10% by weight Li, is sputtered on top of the conjugated polymer to athickness of 10 Å-1μm and preferably 1200 Å. The Li/Al alloy targets arecommercially available and can typically contain ˜2.5% by weight Li.Other stabilising elements such as Zr, Mg, Cu may also be present.Devices made with the protector layer and the lithium based cathode havesignificantly improved electroluminescence efficiencies compared to thedevices without the protector layer and using say calcium electrode.

Thus, the various embodiments described above of the present inventioneach provide a multilayer electroluminescent device incorporating aconverted precursor polymer as the emitting layer and an electrodeprotecting layer placed between the converted precursor polymer and theunderlying electrode and which acts to protect the electrode during theprecursor conversion process. At least one other layer is present one ofwhich is the second electrode.

The embodiments described above are illustrative of a method ofmanufacture of an electroluminescence device wherein a precursor to aconjugated polymer material is deposited on a substrate on which haspreviously been deposited both an electrode layer and subsequently anelectrode protection layer. The precursor is then converted to the finalconjugated polymer form before deposition of a subsequent layer orlayers at least one of which is the second electrode.

TABLE 1 TYPICAL PHOTOLUMINESCENCE EFFICIENCY (%) MEASUREMENTS PLeff/Protection Polymer Type PL eff/Quartz PL eff/ITO Layer/ITOHomopolymer 13.2 0.7 3 Copolymer 56 6.8 22

TABLE 1A IMPROVED PHOTOLUMINESCENCE EFFICIENCY (%) MEASUREMENTS PLeff/Protection Polymer Type PL eff/Quartz PL eff/ITO Layer/ITOHomopolymer 10 2-3 4-5 Copolymer 50-60 7 20

TABLE 2 1737/1517 cm-1 Ratios (Acetate:Carbonyl) from IR spectra1737/1517 cm-1 Substrate Ratio* Inert (Si) 1.1 Si with indium layer with1 protection Si with indium layer 0.3

1-25. (canceled)
 26. A method of manufacturing an organicelectroluminescent device comprising: depositing an anode formed of apositive charge carrier injecting material; depositing a layercomprising an inorganic metal compound exhibiting hole transportmobility, wherein the inorganic metal compound is vanadium oxide ormolybdenum oxide; depositing a light emissive layer comprising asolution processable organic material from solution; and depositing acathode formed of a negative charge carrier injecting material.
 27. Themethod of claim 26, further comprising: depositing a further solutionprocessable organic material layer disposed between the inorganic metalcompound layer and the light emissive layer.